tombstoning.com

A 14-year-old boy was in hospital last night with suspected spinal injuries after falling on to rocks while tombstoning.

See dailymail.co.uk.

In a Daily Post article following an investigation in to tombstoning in North Wales, a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said…

“Go to a place where it’s safe.
“Local knowledge and experience is needed.
“Heed the warnings along the coast, piers and jetties.
“If you see anyone who is at risk in the sea or deep water you should call 999.”

In my opinion this is the kind of approach I think will work better. The adrenaline junkie character doesn’t like being told they shouldn’t do something because someone else (who probably isn’t an adrenaline junkie) thinks it’s dangerous. It’s that feeling that makes them want to try it in the first place.

But (unsurprisingly) not even your free-falling, base-jumping, solo-climbing, stuntman WANTS to be hurt.

They want to get to that fine line where they get their buzz, but don’t get hurt.

See the Daily Post for the full article.

UPDATE: Changed example pictures to a better match at high and low tides.

Water depth was the cause of the recent tombstoning incidents, and this made me think about if we had any pictures in our archive highlighting just how much the tide affects water depth. As one commenter on our first YouTube video put it…

thats the harsh thing with tombstoning, it all depends on the tide.
1day you could be fine the next its goodnight irene.

Below are two pictures (unfortunately from different angles) and a mock-up showing just how much the tide changes at Stair Hole. The first was taken back in 2006 when we first started taking a waterproof camera with us to get some pictures; the second was October last year. Each picture has a caption attached when opened.

The variation here highlights a couple of things…

• It has completely obscured a metre square section of rock around water level, which if you weren’t aware of, you could land on.
• Your falling distance and water depth are both affected by the tide. So at high tide it could be a 25ft jump in to 15ft of water, but the same jump at low tide might be a 30ft jump in to 10ft of water; much more dangerous!

To combat this I recommend using a website like EasyTide to check tide times.

If you pick a port very local to your jumping spot, although it can’t actually tell you the depth of the water, it can be a great reference. If you know a 40ft jump is always safe when the local tide buoy is at 2 metres then you can plan your trip to the coast without the chance of arriving at a really low tide.

Also if you go to a spot frequently enough you should start to recognise the tide state and depth by checking the water level against a familiar point on the cliff or wall.

Lastly, I cannot recommend enough, following the information already in the safety section about checking out the water below before making your jump.

This information will be added to the safety section, but I felt it important that it spends some time on the front page as well.

More information regarding one of the incidents on the 11th May has been published.

Mr Andrews, a builder from Plymouth, leapt off cliffs at Sharrow Beach in Whitsand Bay, Cornwall, on Sunday.

He downed six vodkas in a nearby pub to pluck up the courage to jump, then ignored coastguards who saw him on the cliff top and warned him to keep away.

A fast-ebbing tide had reduced the sea to a depth of just 3ft and he landed on sharp rocks, breaking his neck and damaging his spine in front of his horrified girlfriend Katie Hart, 22.

This is a truly terrible outcome for a day that started with people just having fun; and many more people could get injured if they don’t take the risks involved seriously. Trying my best not to sound insensitive, the warnings were there to try and avoid this kind of accident, but they were overlooked.

There are many comments on the article that give a good indication of public reaction to such events.

See the Daily Mail for full details.

Sunday was a fantastic day to start our 2008 tombstoning season. It was really hot with great visibility and a reasonable tide. We were in good company as well with DWS climbers, divers and canoeists all enjoying the same section of coast.

After years of using a trusty 35mm Canon Sureshot waterproof camera, it finally died and needed replacing. The replacement (a Vivitar ViviCam6200W) promised video as well as high res still images; and although I’m not as impressed as I hoped I would be, it’s not a bad start to our waterproof video recording. Check out the pictures and video.

All in all a great day out, and one we hope to repeat very soon!

This weekend it seemed everyone rushed to the coast to soak up some rays and have some fun. But tombstoning is already back in the news after two people hurt themselves in separate incidents yesterday.

BBC News: Man injured in ‘tombstoning dive’

We have briefly mentioned the dangers of diving or jumping off piers, and if you feel the urge to do so you really should check the water depth before you go for it. The safety section will have more information on the dangers of piers very soon.

BBC News: Man hurt in ‘tombstoning’ plunge

Jumping in to the sea from cliffs can be very dangerous. But you can make it much safer with just a bit of preparation. Checking the water below is a must otherwise you have no idea what you are jumping in to.

Dave Scullion, from Brixham Coastguard says…

Tombstoning is madness whichever way you look at it. An individual has no real idea what’s under the water they are jumping in and the tidal flows alter the depth of water dramatically.

I can fully understand his point of view; the more people he can deter from tombstoning, the less likely an accident is. But I disagree with the detail. An individual can have a very real idea what’s under the water they are jumping in, if they just check it out first.

After years of using a trusty 35mm Canon Sureshot waterproof camera, it finally died and needed replacing. The replacement (a Vivitar ViviCam6200W) promised video as well as high res still images; and although I’m not as impressed as I hoped I would be, it’s not a bad start to our waterproof video recording.

In this video (in order of appearance):
> Ben Norton – 30ft jump
> Natalie Hole – 30ft jump
> Dan Brown – 40ft jump
> Ben Norton – 15ft handstand